Finance

The stock market found sudden relief as Brent crude oil futures slipped back below $100 per barrel amidst potential diplomatic breakthroughs. This downturn in energy costs allowed multi-decade highs in government bond yields to moderate, with the 10-year Treasury yield backing away from its steepest peaks to settle back toward 5.2%. While the underlying strength in corporate profits has kept the bull market afloat, persistent concerns over elevated global borrowing costs continue to cap valuation expansions.

Digital assets demonstrated notable infrastructure resilience following the recent collapse of the highly anticipated CLARITY Act in the U.S. Senate. Despite the high-profile regulatory failure and new administrative pressure from individual state actions and federal proposals, major cryptocurrencies sustained strong upward trends. Both Bitcoin and Ethereum maintained significant weekly gains of around 10%, hovering comfortably near historical thresholds as Bitcoin traded above $84,000.

The final September reading from the University of Michigan's monthly survey ticked slightly higher to 48.1 compared to its preliminary figure, yet still fell notably short of August's print. Long-term inflation expectations among surveyed consumers increased, fueled predominantly by energy costs and high retail gasoline prices that have continuously impacted household outlooks. This persistent anxiety around elevated costs has strengthened market expectations that the Federal Reserve will enforce another interest rate hike next month.